Short lesson today.

In the last lesson, we looked at 失敗 (しっぱい // failure; mistake), and in this lesson, I want to look at the opposite word:

成功
せいこう
success

You'll probably hear this word most often attached to する, which is how we say "to succeed:"

ダイエットに成功した。
ダイエット　に　せいこう　した。
My diet was a success. // My diet was successful. // My diet succeeded.
Literally: "diet + に + success + did."

It's worth noting that we say "[something] に 成功する," because I'm sure that a lot of us get very tempted to say を.

に、に、に！

On another side note, ダイエット includes both "diet and exercise." I wrote about it in this lesson:

[NDL #16] - She's on the... Pelvis Diet?

If you want to simply shout out "Success!" when you succeed at doing something, then I recommend sticking a 大 (だい), which means "big," onto the front of the word:

大成功！
だいせいこう！
Success!

More examples:

ピアニストとして成功するのが私の夢です。
ピアニスト　として　せいこう　する　のが　わたし　の　ゆめ　です。
My dream is to succeed as a pianist.
Literally: "pianist + as (＝として) + success + do + のが + I + の + dream + です."

ビジネスの成功の秘訣は「失敗を恐れないこと」です。
ビジネス　の　せいこう　の　ひけつ　は 「しっぱい　を　おそれない　こと」 です。
The secret [trick] to success in business is, "Don't be afraid of failure."
Literally: "business + の + success + の + secret + は + 'failure + を + don't fear + thing' + です."

So, 秘訣 (ひけつ) means "secret" in the way that we say "the secret to (doing something)."

It's not a secret kept, for example, between friends. That would be a 秘密 (ひみつ).

You can also say 内緒 (ないしょ), which is also the type of "secret" you keep from other people.

ハーバード大学がきのこを使って電気を作る実験に成功した。
ハーバードだいがく　が　きのこ　を　つかって　でんき　を　つくる　じっけん　に　せいこう　した。
In a Harvard University experiment, they were able to make electricity from mushrooms.
Literally: "Harvard University + が + mushroom + を + use (and) + electricity + を + make + experiment + に + success + did."
Note: As far as I know, this is not actually true. ^_^

If that sentence looks long and complicated, it might help to just look at the very end of it:

実験に成功した。
じっけん　に　せいこう　した。
The experiment was successful. // Their experiment succeeded.
Literally: "experiment + に + success + did."

成功している人は早起きが多いらしい。
せいこう　している　ひと　は　はやおき　が　おおい　らしい。
They say that a lot of successful people wake up early. // Supposedly a large number of successful people wake up early.
Literally: "success + is doing + person + は + early rising + が + many + apparently."
Note: ～らしい doesn't actually mean "apparently." It's just something you can attach to the end of sentences to say "supposedly (sentence)." In other words, it marks hearsay.

Anyways, I hope that you find lots of 成功 in both your studies and life in general.

頑張ってください！
がんばってください！
↑ Has anyone in the world figured out a good way to translate phrases like this? Saying something like "Keep at it!" or "Go for it!" or "Hang in there!" just don't quite capture the magic of 頑張る (がんばる) for me...